Analysis: Is LRSD gambling with funding?LITTLE ROCK — Like any lawyer engaged in settlement talks, Attorney General Dustin McDaniel tries to get the best possible deal by casting the other side’s position in the worst possible light. If he’s right, the Little Rock School District could be taking a big gamble by withholding full approval of a deal that would end years of extra state payments to boost desegregation. If he is wrong, the district’s gamble could be worth it. As it has be...

‘Baby Angel’ holds dear memoriesAutumn has always been a transitional season for me. As a child, I saw it as the time when the carefree days of summer changed to conform with the structure and requirements of school. The same held true through college and graduate school. During the years that I was working in corporate finance, fall was the time to finalize plans and budgets for the coming year. As a mother, I see fall, once again, as a time to transition back to school and...

Real winners are problem solversIn today’s culture there is a tremendous emphasis placed on winning, regardless of whether it’s in the boardroom, on the football field or betting at the racetrack. It has been my observation this emphasis in recent years has been getting stronger primarily because of one word — money. A good example is the evolving nature of high school sports. Regardless of the sport, players are getting bigger, stronger and faster — and even meaner in some ...

Expect anything; be prepared for everythingI shot a cop last month. Actually, I shot two. It’s OK, though. Seriously. It was part of the 2013 Citizen’s Police Academy, hosted by the Russellville Police Department. For the past several weeks, I’ve attended the academy and learned a little bit more about what, why and how our local officers do what they do. During the final class, we learned about high-risk situations. Officers gave us a crash-course in searching a building when you have...

More needed on parole’s front lineMaybe state employees should be paid based on how much they’ll be missed when they miss a single day of work. In other words, an agency can go a long time without an official director, but it matters a lot when a foster care caseworker is absent even for a day. If that’s so, the caseworker ought to be the one making the big bucks, not the agency director. I’m not taking credit for this concept. Doyle Webb, now the head of the Republican Party ...

Geography a factor in 2nd District raceRepublican Tim Griffin’s announcement last month that he will not seek a third term as 2nd District congressman created a bit of a scramble in central Arkansas as both parties prepare to campaign for the soon-to-be open seat. Geography of the district is an important factor. A former columnist for the Arkansas News Bureau once described the district as “Little Rock surrounded by Oklahoma.” The description fits. While Little Rock has remained a...

Parole system gets new scrutinyLITTLE ROCK (AP) — The case of a parolee who managed to avoid being locked up before he allegedly killed a man in Little Rock this year is putting new pressure on a parole system that has bedeviled Democratic and Republican governors alike in Arkansas. It’s a problem that won’t be easy — or cheap — to solve. The Arkansas State Police investigation released last week regarding the case of Darrell Dennis, an eight-time parole absconder arrested ...

Agent recalls Kennedy assassination Most of us who lived through 1963 can tell you exactly where we were and what we were doing on Nov. 22 when we heard that President John F. Kennedy had been shot in Dallas. That memory ranks as a signal moment in any lifetime. Clint Hill’s memory is more vivid than that of almost anyone alive, and it has troubled him deeply. As a Secret Service agent assigned to protect first lady Jacqueline Kennedy, Hill was only a few yards away from the pre...

A life that made a big differenceWe never fully understand the impact our lives can have on those around us. The life and ministry of Johnny Jackson — a Southern Baptist minister in Arkansas — was a major influence on mine. I had the privilege of attending a memorial service for Brother Johnny last week at First Baptist Church in Maumelle. The service was a celebration of a life spent serving others. Brother Johnny was pastor of many churches in Arkansas and spent his last fe...

Making a case for literacyThere is a verse in the Bible I have come to appreciate more and more as time goes by. In Proverbs 3:27 it says, “Withhold not good to them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thy hand to do it.” With this in mind, I would like to tell you about one of the greatest needs we have in our nation today — fighting the battle of illiteracy. In our modern technological society, a person does not have a prayer if he or she cannot read. Yet w...

Timing not right for RankinFor months, Beth Anne Rankin wrestled with whether or not to run, again, for Congress, even though she had lost twice before. In the end, she said no. “It’s just hard to let go,” she said in an interview Tuesday between informing supporters of her decision. She later explained, “I just didn’t think it was the right time for me to run again.” I should disclose that Beth Anne — I mean, Rankin — and I have known each other since we attended Ouach...

State prisons reach capacity, causing ripple effect in jailsCounty jails are beginning to fill up in many parts of Arkansas, a logical consequence of the Arkansas Department of Correction reaching its capacity for housing inmates. State news organizations reported on Oct. 25 that the state prison system had reached a record of 14,343 inmates that week — 106.4 percent of capacity for men and 107.2 percent of capacity for women. At the time another 2,144 prisoners were in county jails waiting for beds to...

When public service was honorableIn November 1960, I cast my first presidential vote for John F Kennedy. But because I was in the middle of 13 weeks of Marine Corps boot camp at Parris Island, S.C., that fall, I had to vote by absentee ballot. Parris Island recruits were prohibited from reading newspapers, listening to radio or watching TV. So I did not find out that Kennedy had defeated Richard Nixon until the Thursday after the election when my Marine drill instructor, a wh...

Mr. President, keep your lie, period“No matter how we reform health care, we will keep this promise to the American people. If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor, period. If you like your health care plan, you will be able to you’ll be able to keep your health care plan, period. No one will take it away, no matter what.” — President Barack Obama The now infamous words that President Obama uttered, spoke and proclaimed during interviews, speeches and campa...

Mustard greensIt’s mustard green season, and these cool weather vegetables are popping up in gardens all around the region. Cultivated throughout the South, these leafy greens are related to both collard greens and kale, and were first grown in the Himalayan region of India. Today they are cultivated all across Asia, South America, and throughout the American South, and are popular in Japanese, Chinese and Indian cooking. Mustard greens are a staple in sout...

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Meredith Martin-MoatsThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Committee’s task: cut deficit, dramaTwenty-nine members of the Senate and House met for the first time Wednesday to try to do what Congress has been unable to do for a while — govern responsibly and undramatically on a deadline but without creating a crisis. Expectations are modest for this conference committee, whose members hope to craft a proposal by Dec. 13 that gets us through a year or two without another shutdown or fiscal cliff. There also are intentions of replacing the...

Private option to face new pressureLITTLE ROCK — The computer problems that have frustrated many Americans trying to sign up for insurance under the federal health care law aren’t just a political liability for those in Washington who supported the 2010 law. They could also threaten Arkansas’ compromise plan to expand insurance coverage to thousands of low income workers. The glitches with the online insurance marketplace — as well as a wave of cancellation notices hitting indi...

State House Week in ReviewMore than 250,000 veterans call Arkansas home. That equals more than 8 percent of our entire population. As we approach Veteran’s Day, the 89th General Assembly would like to extend our appreciation to every single Arkansan and their families who have made tremendous sacrifices for our country. Veteran’s affairs have become a top priority for the 89th General Assembly. This is a very personal issue for this body, as 13 of our own members have ...

A nation awash in alcoholYou no doubt have heard the saying, “Give him an inch and he will take a mile,” or as Conway High School football coach Clint Ashcraft famously said, “What you will settle for is what you will have.” Based on a news report I saw a while back, I can tell you what we have. We have a nation awash in alcohol. The sad thing about it is based on the laws in our country, I don’t know what anyone can do about it even if they wanted to. While state and...

Term limits popular but not perfectI’m for term limits, but my wife, Melissa, is really for them. One six-year term for everybody, and then they should return to real life, she says. To illustrate, she recently asked this: What if jurors were elected? Let’s explore that. With juries, legal amateurs temporarily are entrusted with life and death decisions because, when it comes to justice, experience is less important than integrity, and integrity is a tough thing to hold onto wh...